A/HRC/4/24 page 5 14. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the State Border Services (SBS) use of force is authorized only when necessary and exclusively to an extent necessary for the realization of legal objective. Concerning mechanisms for investigation and prosecution of cases of abuse of coercive weapons, the Office for Professional Standards and Internal Affairs has been established at the central level of the SBS. 15. In Canada, the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) states that justification to use force is limited; however, officers may only use whatever force is necessary for that purpose and may be held criminally responsible for any force deemed to be unnecessary or excessive. Incidents that involve serious injury or death are always investigated by independent police or civilian investigative authority to ensure there was just cause for the amount of force used. There is no federal investigative body to review matters of the use of force by law enforcement officers but they are available at the provincial level. 16. Germany stated that administrative coercion may be used only when specifically allowed by law and is used as the severest coercive measure. Affected persons may ask an administrative court to re-evaluate the advance warning, determination and execution of a coercive measure. 17. In Japan, Coast Guard officers and their assistants may use arms within limits, according to the situation in case. Malta stated that the use of force must be absolutely necessary and proportionate. 18. In Spain, the National Police Force use of arms is allowed in cases of serious risk for life or physical integrity of the border officials or third persons, or in cases of serious risk for public safety. In cases of incidents of abuse, the penal jurisdiction should be competent to examine those abuses committed by members of the Security Forces. Syria’s border control guards are provided with training and any incidents of abuse or violations are subject to the legislation following decree 29/1970. 19. In its reply, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) states that the use of force may be authorized in case of public disorder and lack of respect for an authority. Question: Please indicate if, in the context of border control, any laws, regulations or agreements with other countries exist to prevent loss of life and/or serious harm to migrants attempting to cross borders irregularly. Responses 20. The Special Rapporteur regrets the limited number of responses received on this issue. He encourages States to adopt all the necessary measures in order to prevent the loss of life of irregular migrants at the border controls. He welcomes the actions taken by the Governments of Turkey and Ecuador which have ratified the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.